I Am The Swarm

These rat folk had already been converted into node units, effectively becoming “allies.” Luo Wen had prepared some space-adapted rat folk bodies on the moon beforehand, then extracted their consciousnesses from their bodies on the Genesis Planet and transferred them into the lunar bodies.

This instantly achieved the milestone of rat folk’s first, second, third… all the way to the eleventh lunar landing.

The Orbital Sling had a long-standing issue that had persisted since Luo Wen acquired the Hyperbolic System—its accuracy was dreadful.

It epitomized the saying, “brute force works wonders.” Unless used for point-blank shots, its accuracy was so poor that hitting a target felt miraculous.

In space, where distances are measured in light-years, even a one-millimeter deviation at the start could result in unimaginable off-target impacts over a light-year’s span.

Thus, there was significant room for improvement. The rat folk researchers had been specifically brought here by Luo Wen to address this issue.

Unfortunately, the rat folk’s technological development was heavily unbalanced. Rocket engine technology and related fields were leaps and bounds ahead, while radar, computing, and communication technologies lagged significantly.

Their calculations required a substantial amount of practical data to back them up.

After a flurry of intense debugging, various initial data points were recorded, and the Orbital Sling entered its launch countdown.

“Overlord, do you think this experiment will succeed?” Through the Swarm Network, Luo Wen had included Morgan, a few rat folk intelligences, and some Blades into a group chat.

Everyone shared the visual feed of several Scout Bugs with eagle-like vision, closely monitoring the entire launch process.

The Eagle-Eye Bug was a new reconnaissance insect developed by Luo Wen, inspired by the principle of telescopes. Shaped like a giant eyeball, it lacked limbs, mouth, or nose. It relied on internal hydrogen generation and jet propulsion for mobility and received sustenance through a rear connection to the Fungal Carpet.

Its eyeball incorporated the genes of multiple organisms, and while it appeared to have just one eye, it hid dozens of pupil structures of varying sizes. This allowed it to auto-focus and switch between modes like thermal imaging and night vision.

The projectile’s speed upon launch was incredibly high, making it impossible for standard imaging systems to capture its trajectory. However, Luo Wen had added a type of light-bending coating to the Spore Capsule, derived from the Mantis Shrimp’s 20-color imaging system. This allowed the Eagle-Eye Bug to quickly detect the light distortion and lock onto the target.

The bug’s powerful dynamic vision system then kicked in, presenting a clear image of the projectile’s flight path. Since Luo Wen and his subordinates shared the Eagle-Eye Bug’s vision, they could observe the entire process in real time.

Moreover, the Eagle-Eye Bugs were numerous, and Luo Wen had temporarily granted his subordinates the ability to switch camera angles freely.

“Failure is the mother of success. Failure isn’t scary as long as we can learn from it and make improvements. Success will eventually come.” Luo Wen watched the observation screen intently, casually replying to Morgan’s question.

“The Overlord speaks wisely,” Morgan responded.

“……”

The countdown ended, and the Hyperbolic System activated. The Spore Capsule inside the Orbital Sling instantly vanished. The immense recoil reduced most of the Orbital Sling’s structure to ash and even tore up a large section of the Fungal Carpet anchoring it to the ground.

A few seconds later, the Fungal Carpet slammed back down, sending up clouds of dust through its torn seams. Multiple horrifying gashes appeared across its surface.

Luo Wen didn’t have time to worry about the damage to the Fungal Carpet. Unlike typical living organisms, the Fungal Carpet’s injuries, while appearing severe, were minor as long as its main body wasn’t massively burned or obliterated. These surface tears, though terrifying, were essentially superficial wounds that could heal in minutes.

The first target for the Orbital Sling wasn’t a distant planet but the Red Moon, a fellow satellite of the Genesis Planet. After some calculations by the rat folk, today was the day when the Yellow Moon and Red Moon crossed paths, reducing their distance to under 200,000 kilometers.

In space terms, this was practically point-blank range.

Two or three seconds after the projectile disappeared, the Eagle-Eye Bug reacquired the target. By then, the “projectile” had already covered half the distance. A minute later, it impacted the Red Moon’s surface. The entire moon seemed to tremble slightly as the impact site formed a deep crater, throwing up massive amounts of dust.

The impact point was tens of thousands of kilometers off the intended target, but at least it successfully landed on the Red Moon.

“Damn!” Luo Wen couldn’t help but mutter in astonishment. He wasn’t surprised by the off-target distance or even the fact that it hit. What shocked him was how little time the flight had taken.

While he already knew the Hyperbolic System was powerful, he hadn’t expected it to be this potent.

Covering 200,000 kilometers in just over a minute meant the projectile had reached 1% of light speed. Did that mean it could reach a nearby star system in just a few centuries? Well, this made it clear—further improvements to the Orbital Sling’s performance were necessary. Although Luo Wen’s perception of time was becoming increasingly vague, even he thought centuries were too long.

These thoughts quickly passed as Luo Wen connected to the Spore Capsule on the Red Moon via the Swarm Network.

The Spore Capsule—no response.

Brood Queen eggs—no response.

Worker Drone eggs—no response.

Even the Fungal Carpet—no response.

After repeated attempts, Luo Wen concluded that the excessive speed had caused too strong an impact, destroying the Spore Capsule and all the insect eggs inside.

Was this experiment a success?

There was no time to ponder. With the two moons still close, Luo Wen hurriedly prepared for a second launch.

Fortunately, three Orbital Slings had been prepared. One was destroyed, but two remained operational. Although the previous Sling’s destruction had slightly tilted the remaining two, concentrated resources had allowed one of them to be repaired.

Under the assistance of Burrower Ants and Worker Drones, its base was straightened and repositioned.

Without wasting time, the second projectile was loaded. With experience from the first attempt, the rat folk researchers adjusted their settings before the countdown for the second launch began.

This time, Luo Wen learned from the previous mishap and capped the Sling’s performance.

When the countdown ended, the “projectile” vanished. With the reduced performance, the Orbital Sling wasn’t destroyed, nor did it tear up large portions of the Fungal Carpet.

It sustained only minor damage. Given its significant plant-cell composition, it could be easily repaired with the Fungal Carpet’s help, making it reusable after simple maintenance.

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